We just learned that Hilary Swank is pregnant with twins. As she said in her Good Morning America announcement, she’s wanted to be a mother for a very long time, and she’s thrilled it’s finally happening. I don’t want to presume anything about her health, but two years ago, I wrote about Hilary suing SAG-AFTRA’s health plan because they didn’t cover ovarian cysts. She needed to deal with the cysts because they were painful and interfering with her quality of life. It is possible they were affecting her fertility, but Hilary disputed SAG’s attorney’s claim that was her reason for seeking the treatment. So even though the ovarian cysts treatment may have allowed her to get pregnant, I believe this is a really unexpected and truly joyous surprise for the couple. Even if IVF was involved, there was no guarantee.
But, as I said, it’s a very happy and welcome announcement for Hilary. You can hear the emotion in her voice on the talk shows. She knows how lucky she and her husband Philip Schneider are. And her Instagram post of her cradling her bump and calling it a “Double Feature” is darling. So, of course, people had to be horrible and crap all over Hilary’s good news by telling her she’s too old to have a baby. Enter Emmy Rossum, Hilary’s co-star from You’re Not You, who very succinctly shut that nonsense down by replying to the naysayers with “Gfy”. If you don’t know that that stands for, the ‘g’ stands for “go” and the ‘y’ stand for ”yourself.” The ‘f’ stands for… well, it depends on if there are kids present or not.
Emmy Rossum clapped back at a hater who doubted pregnant Hilary Swank will “live to see” her children’s weddings.
When the 48-year-old debuted her baby bump via Instagram on Wednesday, the troll took to the comments section to ask, “AREN’T YOU LIKE 50 YRS OLD?”
The social media user continued, “Gonna be in your 70’s [sic] when they graduate college. MIGHT live to see their wedding, maybe.”
Swank’s “You’re Not You” co-star Rossum, 36, replied with the letters “Gfy,” which stand for “go f–k yourself.”
In addition to Rossum, more of Swank’s celebrity pals sent their support in the comments.
“What what what!!! Yeah ❤️❤️❤️❤️ congrats my friend,” Kate Hudson gushed.Hilarie Burton, for her part, wrote, “Jeffrey [Dean Morgan] and I are so excited for you!!!”
I’m sure Hilary knew there would be some jerks out there that were going to say these kind of cruel comments. It doesn’t make them easier, but they probably didn’t surprise her. I hope she handed her phone to someone else after she posted the photo and instructed them to read her just the good comments. And Emmy’s, because it was amazing. You know how I love efficiency and she shut that down without mincing words. Or even using words, for that matter. Brilliant! How old Hilary will or won’t be during any part of her kids lives is no one’s business. People don’t make these comments to men starting second families during their mid-life crises.
I hope that person who made that ageist comment reads this next part too. On The Drew Barrymore Show, Drew asked Hilary about her father who passed away last year. Drew asked about the bittersweetness of welcoming these twins after such a loss. Hilary told Drew the twins are due on her father’s birthday. *SOB*
Photo credit: Avalon Red and Getty Images
Congratulations to Hilary and her husband!! High five to Emmy! GFY is going to get a Lot of use from me!
Congratulations to Hilary. That’s such wonderful news. Wishing her and her husband all the very best during this special time
Congratulations to Hilary and yes to Emmy!
I say WHOOT for Hillary Swank. I’m taking this as a win for women. I’m suffering from some of the hellish symptoms of being in my fifties. I’ll celebrate a woman getting pregnant at 48 years old.
+1 @Petra
I’ll always celebrate this, especially if it’s her hearts desire coming true.
I had my daughter at 42 and I was considered high risk. 35 is considered to be advanced maternal age. 48 is biologically old to have a baby. No shade on Hilary because it is great news but pregnancy at that age can come with complications.
Hopefully, older women getting pregnant would lead to more scientific research on helping older pregnant women and the health of women in general.
I’m sure she’s well aware of the risks. With her history of ovarian cysts and the news of twins, it’s very likely she did seek fertility treatment. She has plenty of money, support, and resources so in that sense, she has extra insurance insulating her against all the inevitable risks that come with a geriatric pregnancy. Celebs aren’t like us, ya know?
Thx for this comment.
In NYC most pregnancies among my cohort are 35-45.
And I know plenty of women who delivered at 50!
They are bosses- one lady I met when she was breastfeeding her 3 yo in the park and she was 53 at the time- solo mom, genes from her hot personal trainer (I did not ask IVF or…) and just getting on with it.
50 now is not 50 in the 1950s- we have better nutrition and healthcare and mental health. Take care of ourselves better. So if a rich lady wants to have a baby and she’s still fertile I think why not?
Absolutely. I’m 43 and most of my friends had kids between 35 and 45. Maybe because so many of my friends came from divorced families or maybe it’s because of the insane cost of living and housing shortage OR maybe a combination of both, but many couples choose to wait until they feel financially and emotionally stable before they decided to bring kids into the picture. That’s a good thing, guys.
LOL 39 years ago I was considered high risk when I got pregnant at 29 and gave birth at 30!!! These are men telling us about women’s bodies. We women are amazing creatures with bodies that do amazing work. It’s up to us to do what’s right for us. Get old white men out of health care. They have no business standing between a woman, her body and her doctor.
Pregnancy at any age can come with complications.
This is amazing news for Hilary and its her personal business. But to have a natural pregnancy with your own eggs at 48 and twins…the percentage is so low. almost 0%. Before you pile on, I have had over 10 IVF well into my 40s. Once you get past 40 or so, the clinics advise donor eggs. So while Hilary its a dream for her and wonderful, please dont give false dawn hopes to those without knowledge that its that easy and they have lots of time. Its not. That’s my only gripe. I am sure that if others are here and in the same boat, they would agree. No need to be nasty…
It depends woman to woman, obviously. As I wrote yesterday there are clinics that will use your own eggs up to 50, with big advances in pre-implantation genetic screenings helping. No guarantees at all, but there are advances being made.
Yes they help with genetic testing (super expensive) because what happens is you don’t implant the embryos that fail genetic testing whereas before, they would be implanted. Most clinics won’t use your own eggs after 43. I have been to several clinics and they do not have live births with own eggs after about 43. Now of course there are instances whereby women get pregnant later in life but this is a bit of a stretch…again. no shade. good luck to Hilary. Just no false hopes from celebrities. It does not help. and I get it. Why would anyone say donor eggs as its personal.
I had my last at 42 naturally-no shade to older mothers. (But now-as he’s 14, yes, I sometimes do feel like “old mom”.) I’m sure she had IVF and donor eggs. She doesn’t need to go into detail about her fertility journey-but it would be nice if she could cop to having help. When she was discussing how she just thought she wasn’t fitting into her wardrobe, and then discovered she was pregnant, I rolled my eyes.
It’s very possible she didn’t have IVF or donor eggs. It does get harder for women to become pregnant the closer they get to menopause, but the likelihood of twins also increases with maternal age.
@Louise: I sympathize with your struggle but everything you write seems to come from a place of failure and bitterness. What you call Hilary giving false hopes, I see as her case as being much-needed solar encouragement for women.
I am always so disappointed to observe that women’s harshest critics are other women’s foul mouths. And I am so unintetested in this suppressive type of stance.
Maybe she froze her eggs after she got divorced from her first husband, think she was in her mid 30s then.
@Kate: That’s what happened, in all likeliness.
The likelihood of having twins actually increases with age
No one jumps on George Clooney for having his twins late in life and he is 13 YEARS older than Hilary. No one says anything to Alec Baldwin for continuing to have baby’s at his. Sure they probably yell at his fake Latin wife but I barely see a word to him.
Like I shared yesterday, I am so happy for Hilary and her husband. And yes, they give me hope.
Um, yes, people are saying exactly that. When Stellan Skarsgard had his last kid, I said the same. Alex Baldwin isn’t even a footnote in his wife’s display, that’s why nobody pays any attention to him. But no, to me there is no difference between an “old” mother or father. “Old” sperm also carries risks.
People need to make their own decisions and clearly, Hilary Swank has wanted a baby for a long time so she must be absolutely thrilled and in heaven. How can you not be happy when someone is this happy. But part of making choices is facing the realities that come with them and yes. I don’t understand why that’s so controversial. You have a kid late in life, statistically you’re likely to not be there for most of theirs.
It is not even CLOSE to the critique when an older woman has a child. Let’s be real here. We are always attacked in one way or the other. If we don’t want children, if we do want children but don’t have them until later in life. It’s all policing of our bodies and lives that I won’t abide by.
Senator Tammy Duckworth had her babies via IVF and her first child at 50 years old. She stated that it shouldn’t have been a big deal that she had a baby. That it shouldn’t have been such big news. And it’s true. Congratulate the pregnant person and move on or don’t. But stop trying tell us what to do with our bodies.
Yeah it needs to stop being a big deal. Life is never guaranteed for any of us and honestly, her kid will still get better care than most of us, even if Hillary doesn’t live past 70.
It’s not the same at all. Older moms always get it worse from people. And yes, I get it’ll be never be “fair” since we’re the ones who carry the babies. But old is old. My own mother went on a nasty rant when Tamron Hall announced that she’d had her son at age 47. My brother was 47 when he and his second wife had a baby and yet not a word from mom.
Yes, a baby at 48 can be cutting it close because she won’t be 48 forever. The odds of her being a healthy active mom and grandmom when her kid is 40 are low. But there are also younger parents who have health issues and the same could apply to them. But that child is clearly wanted and is going to have a great mom.
People make motherhood the end all, be all. And then these same people turn around and shame older-ish women in their 40s for getting pregnant. Last week, she was a sad childless woman whose life had no real meaning and now she’s a selfish geriatric pregnant woman who won’t see her kid to adulthood. She can’t win. Anyway, I’m happy for her.
I said I thought it was selfish of Alec Baldwin to continue to have children when statistically he wouldn’t live to see them graduate from high school. I still feel that way.
I’m happy for Hillary because I know what it feels like to desperately want children and the joy it brings when it happens for you. I wish her a healthy pregnancy.
Wishing her and her babies nothing but the absolute best.
Some of the concern is about older women who have gone through menopause and then go on high estrogen doses to become and remain pregnant. That carries some pretty substantial risks, especially for breast cancer, so you have to hunt for a doctor who will do it. But 48 could well be on the safe side for Hillary to get pregnant.
It is amazing how quiet the media is about the Republican’s fetal life bills would mean the end of IVF and surrogate pregnancies. Are all the people who’ve been through fertility treatments cool with nobody else being able to have a family this way? Or do they think these fanatics are ever going to give the slightest thought to their troubles?
I’m turning 55 and just stopped my cycle so women can possibly get pregnant later in life without ivf. My grandmother had her last child in her late 40s, no intervention. Congrats to Hilary! Regardless of which road led to this!
I am 46 years old with 4 kids and I feel blessed. If anything I am too fertile. My mother on the other hand only had me with great difficulty. I know how hard it is to want to have kids and not be able to. And what it can do to a marriage. Nevertheless, and because I am close to her age and so are my friends, I have been seeing women have kids later with higher rates of health issues. I, for one, find Baldwin to be reckless. I don’t have the same view on Swank because I think of my mum and all the people who want kids and aren’t able to. It’s a very sharp, particular kind of pain. But this is the issue with science nowadays. It can be both empowering and dangerous. It doesn’t help deviate course and rebuild hope elsewhere. It’s great for couples whose goal has always been to have kids. But at this age complications for the mother and the child are there. I would be too nervous and would not gamble with health like this. Not to
Mention the fact that their time together is cut short. I know I’ll get slammed but I also know that health complications are not sexy to talk about and science has a hubris that seems almost unstoppable.
Good luck to her and her husband on this new adventure! That said I can see some of the age related concerns for older parents. I think the one benefit is that she is financially able to support her children even if something were to happen to her, which isn’t always the case. I’m sure she will prepare for the possibility.
Good luck to her! I’m 35 and have 4 kids, including 1 year old twins. I’m tired now and can’t imagine having my babies 13 years from now, but she has a lot of resources and hopefully a very supportive partner!
Everyone always has something to say about the state of a woman’s uterus. I’m sure she’s spent years having people ask when she’s gonna have kids and now she’s pregnant and people have an opinion on that too.
Yes, @Isa. Everyone has something to say about a woman’s uterus! Stay out of women’s bodily choices. I am childless (not by choice), and the weird looks I get, comments from men, “what a waste, you not being a mother”, to the pitiful look in some women’s eyes as I reveal this in response to the question, “How many children do you have?” is awful. I am so over it. And being pregnant at 48, I am sure she knows the risks. Her body, her choice! I’m so happy for her!
Brigitte Neilsen was 54 or older when she had her daughter. The scales are starting to balance and women are waiting just like the men. I say congratulations to her and her husband on their little blessings.
I am happy for her.
that comment makes.no sense my dad was 30 years old when i was born and he died 18 years later and he was the best dad ever. you cant control life or what will happen. if she lives till 90 her children will be adults, wtf.